Summer Loathin'
by Penthesileia
Summary: Kagome doesn't hate the Summer because of the annoying insects, the eventual boredom or even because of the hot weather. For her, Summer brings a whole different kind of heat. Oneshot


AN: Just some nice, summer fluff. :)

This was written for the "Summer Vacation" prompt over at The Reader's Have Chosen fanfiction contest.

Review please!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_I hate Summer._

Kagome Higurashi paused and considered her work. Shaking her head, she pressed the backspace button a few times.

_I despise Summer._

She tilted her head at the screen, thinking thoughtfully. Wasn't quite strong enough.

_I despise Summer with a passion other people save for NASCAR, knitting, or their dogs._

Hmm. Kinda confusing if read by the wrong person.

_I despise Summer with every fiber of my being, every cell of my body, every strain of consciousness and every little piece of fabric of my soul._

Kagome nodded in satisfaction. Much better! Now if only her teacher would accept that answer without explanation...

"Oh Kagome, I'm going to miss you soooooooooooooo much!!!!!" Rin cried, wrapping her arms around her neck. Tight.

Kagome grunted, patting the girl's arm a little awkwardly. Tearful goodbyes were only a part of the reason why she hated the end of school and the beginning of Summer. Even these tight, spine breaking hugs and long, shirt-staining wails were bearable, only because she realized that they would see each other again in September, even if everyone else obviously didn't (Hence the stranglehold Rin had on her neck)

No, it was the hello's and arrival from a certain moron that made her dread Summer so much.

"Ohhhhhhhh, are you writing up your plans for what you're doing?!? ...oh." Rin deflated, reading over her shoulder. "Oh wow, you…. hate Summer…..a lot. But why? You're finally free to do what you want, you should be happy!"

Sango sighed from where she was writing down her own thoughts of Summer, the last assignment their class had before being released for three months. "Don't get her started, please." she begged Rin. "She'll never shut up."

Elbowing her lightly, Kagome frowned at her friend. "Hey, a little support here!"

Rolling her eyes, Sango smartly clicked the keys to spell out her final sentence and hit the print button. "You know I always have your back Kags but c'mon, you don't think you're being a little immature about this?"

Kagome huffed. "Absolutely not."

"He's really not that bad Kags, you're just being stubborn."

"I am not! He's such an annoying, stupid, insensitive, lame little...demon!"

"Well duh, he kinda is one. And besides, he doesn't want to be there anymore then you want him there."

Rin blinked, not realizing yet they had gently pushed her out of their conversation. "...what?"

Kagome tapped her own keys randomly, trying to look busy for the teacher. "Then his parents should just leave him home. Or my own parents should just send me off to China like I keep begging them. They don't even have to fly me either, I'm willing to be shipped off in a cardboard box to get away from him this Summer."

"Ok, now you're being over-dramatic." Brushing Kagome's hands away, she backspaced all the gibberish she had written out. "Look, just spend nearly every waking moment over at my house so you don't have to deal with the guy. You really only have to be there tonight, until after dinner right?" Sango asked, letting up.

"Right."

"So hang out till then, and afterwards, have Hojo pick you up for a movie or something just to get out of the house." she suggested, jerking her head over towards him, busily typing away at his keyboard. "He's been following your every footstep for the past three months, and since I won't be home until tomorrow, this is his perfect opportunity to get close to you. Might as well get some good karma for being a nice person while you're avoiding the jerk."

"Yeah! You should totally date Hojo!" Rin grabbed the one part of the conversation she actually understood and held on tight. "He's the cutest and sweetest guy ever, I bet dating him would help your chances of being prom queen next year!"

Kagome started pressing keys again, not even caring about the assignment anymore. "That could work." she said slowly. And it really wasn't an hardship, Hojo wasn't painful to look at.

Her eyes cut back to her teacher, who was staring at her students like a hawk. "I'll ask him once school's over for good." Kagome allowed, deleting her document.

"Great!" Rin squealed, clapping her hands. "You guys are going to be so cute! But uh, if you don't mind me asking..." she paused, and really, Kagome was surprised Rin had suppressed her curiosity for this long. "What were you talking about before?"

Kagome shut down her computer, her face in a grim line. "The one person who completely ruins all of Summer for me, and the bane of my life. Inuyasha Tashio."

-----------------------------------

Literally dragging her feet along the sidewalk, Kagome made her way home with a bag full of all the crap she had left in her locker, a half eaten tuna roll, and Hojo's cell phone number tucked safely into one of the ratty side pockets. She sighed, really in no hurry to go home despite the weight on her back.

Inuyasha Tashio was her adopted aunt's son. So really, he had no family relation despite how many times her mother stressed he had. Ever since she was five, her aunt came to visit for the Summer which Kagome didn't mind, and even though she wasn't technically a blood aunt, she was still her favorite aunt in the entire family. The only problem she had with her was that she insisted on dragging her whole family to the shrine too; husband Inu no Taisho, stepson Sesshomaru and the stupidest jerk Kagome had ever met, her son Inuyasha.

Inu no Taisho wasn't bad, he always gave her nice stuff, and Sesshomaru stayed out of her way to go do his own thing. What his own thing was, Kagome had no idea, but since it didn't involve her she didn't care much. But Inuyasha? Grrrr, that Inuyasha!

He was brash, cocky, stupid, rude, immature, inconsiderate, condescending, disgusting, mean, irritating, violent, impatient, dirty, messy, and couldn't put the seat down if his life depended on it. Every Summer he came, and every day they would have some kind of conflict ending with either a screaming match, a food fight, a pounding headache for Kagome, a throbbing cheek for Inuyasha and on one occasion, ice cream down Kagome's shirt. That damn Inuyasha just couldn't help but pick a fight with her!

She gritted her teeth, the site of the shrine coming into view. Every Summer they'd scream at each other until they were blue in the face, but not this one. This Summer was finally one Kagome was determined to enjoy. She was going to ignore and avoid Inuyasha, and hopefully start up a Summer fling with Hojo while moving into Sango's house. This Summer was not going to involve her crying into her pillow every night because Inuyasha had been especially cruel. No, if anyone was making her cry it was going to be Hojo once she made him fall madly in love with her, all the better to keep her busy and away from Inuyasha.

....though thinking about it, Hojo wouldn't make her cry because he was to scared to upset her. He accidentally pushed her into some lockers at school and he practically fainted in horror at nearly hurting her.

Kagome lifted her chin as she began to scale the long steps up to her shrine, beginning to lighten up. This Summer was definitely going to be different. She just had to get through the traditional welcoming dinner and then Hojo would come pick her up to free her from Inuyasha. It was going to be perfect.

Climbing the remaining stairs with a little more bounce to her step, Kagome hurried, the weight from her bag really beginning to nag at her shoulders.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what movie do you want to see?" Hojo asked eagerly while Kagome twirled her finger around her hair, even though he couldn't see it through the phone.

"Oh I dunno, that new one with whatshisface looked good." Kagome responded, slightly distracted. When were they going to get here?

"Um, oh." Hojo said, back not sure what her answer was. "Well, I'm really glad you asked me out tonight Higurashi, I'm really excited."

"Me too Hojo." What would be a good comeback for whatever insult Inuyasha was going to use first? He usually made some crack about her looks, so should she say something about his bean-stalk height or his girly hair?

"I mean, I don't know if you know this, but I've been hoping to go out with you for a few months now..."

"Oh, I know." He had only mentioned it two or five times in the last ten minutes. Ugh, they were late. Maybe she should just talk about how cool cats were. He hated that. Whenever she mentioned that unlike dogs, cats can see in color, Inuyasha would snap back about FDR spending over 15,000 dollars to send a destroyer out and retrieve his forgotten dog. It didn't matter that that didn't prove dogs supposed superiority over cats, he would get so angry.

"...so I'm so happy we're going out tonight Higurashi!"

"I know, me to Hojo." Kagome said automatically, still looking out the window. When were they going to get here?

"Should I pick you up at your home tonight?" he asked politely.

"That would be great Hojo...YES!" Kagome whooped when a long, black car pulled in front of their house.

"Kagome...?" she faintly heard Hojo asked bewilderedly.

"Oh, sorry Hojo, I have to go. I'll call you later!" she promised cheerfully before hanging up on him and tossing the phone on her bed. She grabbed a brush and rapidly pulled it through her hair, wishing she had taken time earlier to ensure it didn't look like a rat's nest.

"Kagome, come down now!" Her mother yelled up the steps.

"One minute!" Kagome searched frantically for a hair clip. Maybe she could just pin it up...

"Kagome, now, they're walking through the door!"

She nearly growled in frustration, "Coming!" she yelled back. "Geez, it's only Inuyasha and them." she muttered, hands quickly throwing her hair into a pony tail with a scrunchie. She looked in the mirror, hated the way her face was shaped and took it back out.

"Kagome!!!"

Finally just throwing the brush and the hair tie down, Kagome opened her door, taking her time while she made her way downstairs. She could hear her mother greeting her sister Izayoi enthusiastically while her brother questioned Sesshomaru on how tall he thought he was now, and she could imagine the look she was sure Inu no Taisho was giving Inuyasha. A mixture of 'behave' and 'don't-you-dare-upset-Kagome-the-minute-we-walk-in-or-at-any-other-time-this-Summer' was his favorite glare. But it didn't matter. Inuyasha could ignore his father's silent warning all he wanted, she only had to put up with him during dinner!

Carefully, Kagome made a show of gently setting her foot down on each stair, drawing out the moment.

"Kagome." her mother paused from hugging her sister to warn her and Kagome sped up her pace.

"Well here she is finally!" Her mother beamed. "Kagome say hello to your aunt and uncle."

Before she could comply Kagome found herself engulfed by her aunt's warm hug.

"Oh Kagome, look how much you've grown in a year!" Izayoi exclaimed, cupping her hands around Kagome's face to get a better look at her.

Inu no Taisho nodded at her from behind his wife, his hands full of wrapped presents. Sesshomaru stood next to him, as handsome as usual if Kagome was being honest, but looking like he was bored out of his mind.

"Hi Aunt Izayoi. Uncle Inu no Taisho." Kagome grinned at both of them, hugging each of them in turn. Even though she had spent days dreading their arrival, she really was glad to see them.

Izayoi sighed, still patting her niece's cheek. "You get more lovely every time we come to visit Kagome."

"Feh. Lovely? What part am I missing? Her crazed hair, her squinty eyes, or her double chin?" Inuyasha sneered from where he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest arrogantly.

Kagome extracted herself from her aunt and looked him up and down with an uninterested, unimpressed gaze, hardly noticing the way his shirt clung to him. "I'm sure you have trouble seeing from that height. Then again, dogs eyesight suck."

He bared his white teeth at her, "Well cats can't even smell their own shit when it's right under their noses."

Izaoyi gasped and slapped his shoulder. "Inuyasha! Apologize!"

"For what? It's the truth. Not my fault the stupid girl didn't know." he huffed.

"It's not my fault that stupid dogs have a brain the size of a walnut." she shot back.

"Hey, their brain size is about 72 grams dummy, that's way bigger then a walnut!"

"Inuyasha, you still need to apologize." Izayoi reminded him wearily.

"Feh, what apology?"

"Oh, it's okay Aunt Izayoi, it's not his fault. Inuyasha, like most dogs, can't remember anything after fifteen seconds." Kagome pointed out sweetly, looking at him with sarcastic understanding.

"Kagome!" her mother snapped at the same time Inuyasha's face darkened.

"Izayoi made cake." Inu no Taisho spoke up suddenly.

Kagome's mother clapped her hands. "Oh that sounds lovely! Now you two," she directed her attention at the two seething teenagers. "If you want any, you have to apologize to each other."

Kagome and Inuyasha stared at her silently.

Her mother sighed, "Fine. Inuyasha you...well, your parents can decide but Kagome," she turned her attention fully to her daughter. "You behave if you want to go out tonight with that nice Holo boy."

Kagome rolled her eyes, not noticing the way Inuyasha suddenly went tense. "Hojo mom, his name is Hojo."

"...Hojo? Whose_ Hojo?_" Inuyasha spat out, disdain dripping from every word.

"Not that it's any of your business, but he's a guy from school."

"And what are you doing with him?" he demanded, totally oblivious to his suddenly extremely interested family, sans Sesshomaru of course, who wouldn't really care even if Inuyasha was on fire.

Kagome glanced over at him, taken back by the venom in his voice. "What? Are you my father now?" she asked. "I'm going on a date with him, dad."

"He's a very nice boy Inuyasha." Ms. Higurashi added.

"Yeah, he got me a dead lizard skull once!" Souta piped up.

"I don't need to be reminded that the guy I'm going to spend my Summer with once touched a dead thing Souta." Kagome shuddered, Inuyasha's growls too low for her to hear.

"You're spending your Summer with this loser?" Inuyasha said slowly.

"Yep." Kagome said with satisfaction, while a tic formed in Inuyasha's forehead.

"You stupid, stupid _girl_!" he suddenly raged, spinning around to glare at her. "Get this straight moron, he doesn't want a kiss on the cheek and a hug behind. You're so blind he'll have your skirt up around your waist before he even turns the car on!"

The entire family went silent and Kagome jerked, taken back by his harsh words. "Inuyasha." Inu no Taisho rumbled. "That was too much."

"It is pathetically amusing to see him act like a jealous pup however." Sesshomaru mused, despite showing no signs of humor.

Kagome didn't stay to hear Inuyasha's response as she whirled around to go back upstairs, unwilling to let him see her tears. Once again, he had gone too far.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Violently stabbing her meat with her chopstick, Kagome ignored the rest of her family, one eye on her food and the other on the clock. Thank God Hojo would be here soon to save her. Dinner was painfully awkward after Inuyasha's thoughtless comment earlier.

She felt his eyes on her, but she refused to look towards him. She was sick of all this stupid fighting. No. More.

She dropped her chopsticks, the chatter of the wood onto the table ruining the silence of the room and making everyone, expect Sesshomaru of course, jump.

"May I be excused? I need to call Hojo." she asked her mother, not noticing the way Inuyasha's hands tightened on his chop sticks.

"But Kagome you've hardly said one word to your family." Ms. Higurashi answered back disapprovingly.

Gritting her teeth, she forced a smile on her face. "Good evening Aunt Izayoi. How are you?"

Her aunt sent her an amused look back. "I'm well Kagome. Feel free to run off now."

"Thank you!!!" she moaned in gratitude, shooting up from the table and practically running out the dining room door. She was almost free!

Her mother frowned, "Izayoi-"

"Don't start sis, that girl was completely miserable." she waved her off before glancing slyly at Inuyasha. "You may be excused as well Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's seat was empty before his mother had even finished her sentence.

"Izayoi." her husband said warily as he and Ms. Higurashi shared a look.

"Trust me, this couldn't have come at a better time." she took a sip of tea, smirking to herself.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, thanks so much Hojo. I'll see you in fifteen minutes then?" Kagome laughed as she idly paced under a tree in the shrine courtyard. "Really, that's sweet but don't kill yourself trying to make it here in ten. Alright, see you soon." she snapped her cell phone closed, a self satisfied smile curving her lips. She was down to mere minutes now.

"Good advice, I can kill him myself now." Inuyasha snarled, melting out of the shadows like some kind of clichéd movie monster.

Kagome jumped, her heart beginning to slam against her rib cage. "You know, I don't know what your problem is. What the hell do you care if I go out? Are you that disappointed you won't have someone to torture this Summer?"

"It's not the going out that pisses me off." Inuyasha growled. "It's the asshole."

Her shoulder's stiffened. "You leave Hojo alone! He's a nice guy."

His arms crossed over his chest, his entire body so tense he was almost shaking. "Feh, nice. That's another word for 'spineless wimp'. Or someone you don't realize yet only wants to get into your pants."

"You don't know him at all." she shot back. "He's sweet, considerate, and nice. He's the total opposite of you."

If possible, Inuyasha became even more still. "Oh, the opposite of me? And that's what you want?" he asked, his tone taking on a dangerous edge.

Kagome swallowed nervously, feeling a strange...tension suddenly between them as Inuyasha stared at her. She had seen that look before; it was his special look he usually reserved for his precious Ramen. The Ramen was prey and Inuyasha was the hunter...and he was very, very hungry. "That's exactly what I want." she almost whispered.

He took a step. "You don't want me at all?" he questioned almost mockingly. "You want this Hojo over me?"

She shook her head roughly, trying to get rid of the confusion that was rapidly descending over her mind. "I don't understand you at all. Why the hell do you care?" she nearly shouted in frustration.

Inuyasha shook his head, "Such a stupid girl." he sighed, taking another step.

Her mouth dropped in outrage, "You are such a jerk! I can't wait for Hojo to come and get me away from you. I never want to see you again!"

"Liar." he breathed.

They stared at each other for a brief moment...and then they launched themselves at one another.

Her lips smacked into Inuyasha's as she fisted her hands into his long hair, pulling his face even closer to hers. He growled in approval, his arms wrapped tight around her back. His kiss was hard, dominating, almost punishing as it moved over hers. As if admonishing her for not realizing it sooner.

They broke away, both of them panting heavily as Inuyasha leaned his forehead against hers, not letting her go. "I care because I don't want that bastard anywhere near you. I don't want you to be anywhere but with me this Summer."

His lips placed a careful kiss on her temple as Kagome held her breath. "You...are...mine." he said softly, drawing the words out. "And I've been pissed off all this time because you wouldn't realize it."

Kagome draw in a shaky breath, "Hey, wait a minute here-"

Her words were swallowed by his lips, this kiss less aggressive then their first one. He smirked slightly when he pulled back and caught a look of her dumbfounded expression. "If I had known this was how to shut you up we wouldn't have fought so much." he mused.

Kagome returned his grin with a scowl. "I am not yours asshole, I didn't even like you until five seconds ago-"

"Not that you knew anyway."

"-and I don't see how we can date. We're constantly screaming at each other-"

"Only because you don't realize I'm always right."

"-and I have a date with Hojo tonight!"

"Not anymore you fucking don't." Inuyasha snapped back.

Kagome send him a stern look. "I don't want to hurt him, He's a nice guy Inuyasha-"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Again with the nice guy crap. Just call him gay already and get over it."

"Inuyasha!"

"Feh. Fine, I'll break you two up for you since you're so concerned with his little feelings." he offered kindly.

"I'm not sure that's what I want either..."

Inuyasha hauled her even closer against him, "So you are saying you want him more then me?"

"No!" Kagome instinctively shouted. "Err...I mean..."

"Nope, that's it, you signed your death warrant, you're alllllll mine now." He sang gleefully.

Kagome sighed, wondering if she should argue with him. But being this close to Inuyasha just felt so nice. But... "Inuyasha, how are we supposed to make this work?" she worried.

"I've met cats and dogs who can get along just fine. And there's some baby hippo in Africa that become attached to a turtle, and that sign-language gorilla had that kitten didn't she?" Inuyasha ran a hand soothingly up and down her back. "Just give us a chance Kags, other opposites made it work long before we came long."

She bit her lip, hesitating. "Just let me talk to him." she finally said, as a smirk bloomed over

Inuyasha's face. "He should be here soon-"

"Higurashi?" she heard Hojo call out and the smile abruptly left Inuyasha's face.

Giving him a warning look, she gently try to pry his hands off her back, only to find him immovable. She glared at him, and he finally sighed and let her go, but he did insist on grabbing her hand instead. "Over here Hojo."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth as Hojo jogged his way over to them. "Hey Kagome! I'm so happy to be going out with you...oh." he paused as he spotted Inuyasha, his face falling. "Whose this?"

Kagome blinked, feeling unprepared about how to explain Inuyasha. "Well Hojo, this is...well...um...you see Hojo...uh...I guess I have to explain-"

"No, don't bother." his eyes were cast down and his shoulders slumped over. "I think I understand. Actually, I think on some level I've always known."

"...er... you have?"

He nodded. "Of course, it's obvious. I know you asked me out, but you still weren't as excited as I had hoped for. I know for sure now that I'm nothing more then a friend." he explained, miserable.

Kagome bit her lip, feeling horrible for hurting him this way. "Hojo, I'm sorry-"

He held up a hand, "No really, it's fine, I understand completely." he looked sadly at their joined hands. "I know you can't chose who you love."

Smiling weakly, Hojo started to back away. "But I will be a good sport and congratulate you on finding someone so lovely. She's beautiful."

Inuyasha's eyes practically popped out of their sockets and Kagome quickly stepped in front of him. "She...?"

"I wish you the best with your attractive girlfriend. I will say, her golden eyes are quite..." he chocked on a sob, "Becoming." he managed to get out, before spinning on his heel and walking quickly away.

Kagome immediately threw her arms around Inuyasha, bracing herself on the ground and hiding her face in his shoulder.

"That...that..." Inuyasha stuttered. "He thinks I'm a girl?!?" He nearly roared. "And you...are you laughing?" he accused Kagome, noticing the way her shoulders shook.

"Me? No of course not. I'm just thinking you're the one who assumed he was gay and then he thought you were a girl!" Kagome chortled against his skin.

His chest rumbled against her cheek as he growled. "Fucking bastard...I'll show him how 'girlish' I am. Just he waits till school starts up again..."

Kagome slowed her laughter to a chuckle, "What do you mean, you'll be home by then."

She sensed rather then saw his smugness. "Well, not my old home anyway." he leaned down to gently bite her ear, and her giggling quickly turned into a squeal. "Guess who became the newest student at your school?"

She gasped. "No way."

"Yes way. Your mother is letting me stay at your house too. See, so you would have been mine regardless, Hojo just sped things up a bit." he bragged.

"Hey, I still don't know about this whole belonging to you business." Kagome warned. "I think I'm going to need some more time to decide."

Inuyasha groaned, "I let a guy walk away thinking I was a girl for you. What more do you want?"

"A date. Right now. And one for every single argument we've ever had."

"That's a lotta dates Kags."

A grin slowly stretched the corners of her lips. "That's kinda the point _Inu_."

Tossing a arm around here shoulders, he started leading her to the shrine steps. "Well let's get on 'em then." he laughed suddenly. "This is gonna be one hell of a Summer."

Kagome hugged herself closer to his side. It looked like she was going to get her perfect Summer after all.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: REVIEW!!!!!!


End file.
